In the last year and a half I have become a runner. In August of 2012 I joined Orange County Fitness bootcamp. It was (then) predominantly female, in a parking lot, and hard as hell. It still is. But the founder, Kim Faulkner, was/is so encouraging and supportive and bad ass that I quickly resolved to be as dedicated as she and the other women in my class were.
This was my catalyst.
It started with getting in shape and evolved into a desire to run fast. Suddenly, my free time is spent racing and long running for fun instead of seeking out the coolest places to catch a buzz with my husband in an attempt to reclaim a bit of the young and free feelings of our early courtship. The satisfaction and space I have found during my solo and group runs is so deep that I feel like the 2011 me has shed her alcohol and fried food soaked skin and become a different form of person. This year has also seen life long relationships run their course and dissipate into a wisp of decades old memories. While that is not a negative thing- it happens-it's a marked change in the cast of characters in my life.
Spiritually, I am as studious as ever. That means sporadically but with unfaltering enthusiasm. I chip away at my understanding of my origins and my destiny each week at mass (well, mostly each week), at CCD teaching my preschoolers the basics ( we are on the same level most of the time), and every Thursday with a woman named Lamore who studies the bible with me from the perspective of a Jehovah's Witness. We've been at it about a year and a half, maybe two. I love her.
This is why I feel compelled to approach this blog from the angle of a person who has been born again. I'm still me, but I can't relate to the entries from my old blog as quickly as I used to be able to...So here is a new space I am dedicating to all things running and living. I will recap the races I've done, document the training I do, and chronicle everything of interest in between. I'm still learning how to train and race and I know I take a ton of advice from other online sources. My hope is that eventually I can offer some reassurance to nervous first time racers or interesting training tips to someone learning how to get into a training routine.
On my agenda this weekend is the RunGirl half marathon and relay race. It will be my second half marathon. I ran my first half marathon, the Gusher Marathon, half marathon, and 5k, last March. It was my second race ever. I had run my first race ever, the Mardi Gras 5k, the month before. I was underprepared, had only ever run as far as 7 miles once, and was both terrified and way too confident. I figured it would just feel the way six miles feels. Twice. Mercifully, my husband agreed to run it by my side and he paced me to finish comfortably in 1:57.
Since then I've been doing long runs regularly every week. I ran through the hot sweltering Southeast Texas summer and became familiar with how 10 milers feel. Nevertheless, I am very nervous. I will be running alone, I won't have my pacer, and I'm not sure how it feels to actually push a pace in a racing environment of so many miles. However, in order to race future half marathons and perform at my best, I need the experience of another 13.1 under my belt. I know I sound like a giant baby. I have runner friends who pop up on my Facebook newsfeed with updates about half marathons regularly. I know it's generally viewed as a totally doable distance. I'm just too much of a newbie and a control freak to relax into the experience and just let it flow. However, I am going to pretend that is what I'm doing.
I must now go eat and rest vigorously. Here's to feeling the most alive, as often as possible.
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